American Idol’ 2020 Hollywood Week Schedule: Episode 6 Time & Channel

American Idol Time and Channel

ABC/Eric McCandless

ABC’s singing competition show American Idol begins airing Season 18 Hollywood Week tonight, March 16, 2020. The episode, which is episode 6 of the season, begins at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC and is two hours long. 

Tonight’s episode kicks off Hollywood Week, which will cut down the number of contestants from what is likely close to 100 down to 40 total before the Showcase round. For tonight’s episode, the contestants will participate in the genre challenge where they’ll pick a genre and then a song within that genre to perform in front of the judges.

Lionel Richie, Katy Perry and Luke Bryan will decide which contestants move forward from Hollywood Week to Showcase Round, and they will continue deciding which contestants get sent home up until the Top 20. At that point, Live shows will begin.

Read on to learn more about tonight’s episode and Hollywood Week in general.


Who Is Performing on Episode 6?

Episode 6 of Season 18 will be a big night for Idol viewers with over 20 performances airing on the first night of Hollywood Week. The first round consists of the Genre Challenge, which is what tonight’s episode will be all about. The contestants choose a genre and then are able to choose a song to perform for the judges.

Here are all the contestants performing on tonight’s episode in no particular order:

Kimmy Gabriela
Lauren Mascitti
Lauren Spencer
Makayla Phillips
Julia Gargano
Sophia Wackerman
Genavieve Linkowski
Louis Knight
Shannon Gibbons
Bilaal Avas
Francisco Martin
Jovin Webb
Cyniah Elise
Marna Michele
Arthur Gunn
Nick Merico
Jonny West
Margie Mays
Hannah Prestige
Just Sam
Kay Genyse
Dillon James
Doug Kiker

Many standouts from the audition rounds are seen on the above list. Lauren Mascitti, Makayla Phillips, Louis Knight, Francisco Martin, Jonny West and Doug Kiker all received a ton of praise from the judges at the time of their auditions.


‘American Idol’ 2020 Hollywood Week Twists and Changes

Before Season 18 of American Idol even began, there were hints and clues that the format of Hollywood week would be changed up at least a little bit. In the promo clips for the new episode, however, Perry is heard saying everything has changed.

Don’t fear, though. They will definitely still feature all the drama, catfights, meltdowns and disappointing performances that viewers have come to expect out of Hollywood Week.

So, this year, instead of running the usual “lines of 10” like they have in previous seasons, contestants will now be able to showcase their favorite music styles. They’ll get to choose a genre, and then they’ll perform a song in that genre of their choosing.

Next, Idol will use duets rather than groups to get to know contestants more. Each contestant will get to pair up with an opponent, select a song, create an arrangement and then perform it. The contestants get to choose who they’d like to work with.

The third round of Hollywood Week will operate the same as it has previously. The round will showcase contestants in solo performances, and they’ll have the opportunity to perform with a whole band behind them, giving viewers the opportunity to see how well the contestants do under that light.

Tune in to American Idol Sunday and Monday nights at 8 p.m. on ABC to see the hopefuls perform.

READ NEXT: ‘American Idol’ Cast Spoilers 2020: Top 40 Contestants for Season 18